Posted on 28 Mar 2024
Vietnamese producers of hot rolled coil have filed complaints of HRC dumping from China. Hoa Phat Group and Formosa Ha Tinh Steel filed their dumping petitions with the Ministry of Industry and Trade sometime around 14 March and 19 March respectively. Indian-origin HRC imports were also targeted, Kallanish understands.
But the Vietnamese downstream industry, including rerollers, galvanizers and pipemakers, is against the proposal for trade action. According to local press reports, leading reroller Hoa Sen Group has raised concerns that the two local steelmakers could control HRC supply if trade measures are put in place.
Hoa Sen countered that the domestic producers had insufficient grounds to initiate any anti-dumping action. According to its estimates, the dumping margin of Chinese HRC exports during 2023 was about 1.26%, which is below the pre-requisite 2% for anti-dumping measures to be applied. The company also noted that the two Vietnamese HRC producers did not sustain losses in production or sales during the 2019-23 period.
Since Vietnam relies heavily on imports, it would be difficult for any trade action to happen, a Hanoi-based market source says. Chinese HRC is the main focus since Indian exports to Vietnam have receded because of strong Indian domestic demand.
At Kallanish Asia Steel Markets 2024 on Wednesday, Nghiem Xuan Da, chairman of Vietnam Steel Association, did not mention the latest action taken by the mills, when asked about HRC exports to Vietnam.
Vietnamese HRC imports from China, India, Japan and South Korea totalled 5-6 million tonnes in 2023, whereas local production was around 6mt, he told delegates. As HRC import prices are cheaper, there are “concerns” and “some opinion” of considering anti-dumping action on imports from China. The government was “very careful on this issue”, Nghiem concluded.
“The two mills are still collecting data,” an insider says. It could take a long time, maybe two years, before there is any action, because of the resistance from buyers, he adds.
Source:Kallanish
